"Sophie!"

Jamie pushed aside the door to the small girl's room to find her tugging her worn, pink fairy wings out of her toy chest. Paying him no heed, Sophie began to fit the straps of the wings onto her little shoulders. She pulled on the right strap, holding the wings together in the other fist. She then tucked the right strap over her shoulder, but the wings were a loose fit; if she let go of the other side, they'd fall off. So she kept a tight grip on the wings and then grabbed the strap quickly. Jamie marveled at how her small hands fit all the said articles into them.

Sophie then let go of the wings, but her hair got in the way of her fingers, and when she tightened her grip on the strap again, she ended up pulling on her hair. If she let go, she'd have to do the whole process over. So she finally turned to look at Jamie, her head tilted a little so she didn't yank on her blond hair.

"Jamie, stop looking at me and heeelp!" the six-year-old demanded with an imploring glance at her older brother. Jamie chuckled and repeated a line he'd heard Jack say before.

"I really wish I had a camera right now…" he said, suppressing laughter. The fourteen-year-old knelt down next to his sister and took the left strap. "Okay, Soph, you can let go of the strap now!" She abided by his words and released her grip, extending her arm so Jamie could put the strap on her shoulder. As soon as it was in place, Sophie jumped up and flounced around the room excitedly. Jamie chuckled again and leaned against the wall, watching his sister's antics.

Suddenly, without warning, Sophie bounded from her room into his room, which overlooked the lawn. She let out a loud squeal of delight. "Jamie! Snow!" He gave a wry smile, thinking at she was joking. Then he looked out of the window. Sure enough, the landscape and serene and white. But he had to make sure it wasn't a prank, that someone hadn't painted his window to make it look like it was snowing. (He'd actually done that before – it was hilarious.) So he hoisted the window open, and a blast of cold air hit him in the face, making him screw up his eyes and his hair fly back. He withdrew his head.

"Sure is, Soph! It's snowing!" Jamie grabbed his sister's waist and tossed her into the air, making her laugh with amusement. He caught her and immediately she wriggled out of his arms.

"I want to go play in the snow, Jamie!" she demanded, pulling on Jamie's sleeve. He sighed, but both he and Sophie knew that he was completely and totally privy to her demands and whims. And so he bundled up in a thick coat, and made sure she did the same. (Of course, she demanded that he put her fairy wings on her again.) He went outside, and within minutes, Monty, Pippa, Cupcake, and the twins were all gathered in his yard.

All of the kids who had actually seen the Guardians in person were very close, and even after four years, none of them had stopped believing. Since they were so close, and talked to each other so often, they got right to business: a snowball fight!

To say that it was the be all and end all of snowball fights would not be an exaggeration.

Then, after they were all cold fingers and bright grins, they all went their separate ways and Jamie and Sophie went back inside. Their mother had made them some hot cocoa, and they sat around the hearth sipping at the beverage.

"Jamie, can we go ice skating tomorrow?" Sophie pleaded, turning her smiling face with its little rosy cheeks to Jamie.

"Sure, Soph," he laughed. "Tomorrow we can go to that pond and skate."

He was sure that if Sophie had not had her mug of cocoa in her hands, she would have jumped up and down in excitement. As it was, she set it down before bouncing around jubilantly. Then she tackle-hugged Jamie, almost making him spill his chocolate. "Whoa, Sophie," he said, chuckling. He bent down and ruffled her hair. "Tomorrow, we'll go skating, but today, let's stay inside and stay warm," he advised. She agreed with a giggle, and went upstairs to her room.

Jamie woke up to a pair of small, warm hands clutching at his torso. "Come on, Jamie! Ice skating!"

Jamie blinked bleary eyes and then sat up, dislodging Sophie's iron grip. "Okay, okay, Soph!" he laughed. Her enthusiasm was nothing if not contagious. "Just lemme get dressed." He shooed the girl out of his room and put on a pair of warm, thick pants, a sweater, and a fuzzy jacket. And, of course, his hat. He straightened it on his head right as Sophie came barging in again and bounced on the balls of her feet.

"Huuurryyyyy!"

Jamie chuckled once more and ruffled her hair. He saw that, somehow, she had gotten her fairy wings on over her overcoat. She had her ice skates in her hands and the blades clacked against each other. He fetched his skates, and opened the door. "Mom, we're going to skate at the lake!" he called. Their mother came around the corner and adjusted his hat. She hugged Sophie, and planted a light kiss on his forehead. "Be careful!"

Jamie laughed. "We will!"

They trekked the way to the lake slowly, and Sophie seemed to find wonder in even the smallest of snowflakes. She laughed joyously all the way, and didn't stop when they got there, either. She pulled her skates on in record time, securing the laces quickly. As Jamie was just taking his out, she darted onto the ice. He sighed, amused, and abandoned the skates, going to the middle of the lake so he could better watch over her. Sophie skated for a long time, performing small leaps and clumsy twirls to the best of her ability. Her grin could have lit up the dark side of the moon.

Crack.

Jamie started at the noise, so at odds with his sister's playing. He quickly found the source, and froze, horrified. Cracks were webbing out from his little sister's skates, and she looked at him with a scared expression on her small face, her lank hair hanging in front of her face. He began to stand up, but only made it to a crouch before the ice under him cracked too, the splintering sound seeming huge to his ears.

Sophie whimpered slightly, her eyes wide and frightened.

Jamie hid his panic, his fright. He put on an encouraging smile instead. He leaned forward, and held his hands out in a placating gesture.

"It's okay, it's okay!" he soothed, hating the way his voice quavered. Hopefully, Sophie couldn't tell. "Don't look down, just look at me." Suddenly, a wave of déjà vu swept over him so hard that he almost physically stumbled. He didn't know why – this had never happened in his life! He pushed it aside, though.

"Jamie… I'm scared," Sophie said softly. Her voice was almost drowned out by the frantic beating of Jamie's heart. But he had to be brave for Sophie.

"It's alright, you're gonna be alright." He hesitated. "We're gonna have a little fun instead."

"No, we're not!" Her voice cracked and broke into a sob.

Jamie forced a laugh. "Would I trick you?" he asked. He inched forward slightly.

"Yes, you always play tricks! Like that time you painted Monty's window!" she wailed.

"Oh, well… Not – not… not this time. I promise, I promise, you're going to be just fine," he reassured her, his hands still stretched out in front of him. He straightened up completely. "You want to play a game?" he asked, grinning. "We're gonna play hopscotch, like you love to! It's as easy as, uh…" He took a step forward. "One…" He pretended to stumble comically, and she laughed, her fear abating a little. He took another step. "Two…" Another. "Three!" He was now much closer to Sophie.

"Now it's your turn."

Sophie took a tiny step, gasping as cracks spiderwebbed from her skates. Two more tiny steps. Then Jami grabbed her by the waist and flung her toward the shoreline toward sturdier ice. She skidded a ways, then looked up at him, her features full of adoration and amusement. Of course he'd never let her fall in.

Jamie felt swamped by relief as well. He was just happy that Sophie would be all right. He began to laugh, but almost before the chuckle left his lips, a thunderous crack sounded underneath him as the ice gave way. He plunged into the frigid water, panic ensuing once more, and his limbs flailed frantically. It was to no avail; he kept sinking, lower and lower, as the water got darker and murkier. Through the water, he heard a shrill scream.

"Jamie!"

Then he was gone.

Afterward, Sophie Bennett would run screaming up to the house. Afterward, her mother would cry. Afterward, the family would all mourn together, as they knew that the light of their lives, Jamie Bennett, was gone. But even after that...

The moon looked on and smiled serenely as Jamie Bennett breathed once more.

A/N: Yay, first RoTG fic! I'm not really satisfied with this one, but ah, well. Enjoy anyway!